Google FTC fine over Safari breach could be $10 million+

After the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded that Google violated Internet privacy standards in the way that it interacted with Apple's Safari Web browser, the question is now how much the search giant will have to pay in fines. Based on the huge number of individual instances of privacy violations, Google could technically be forced to fork over millions and millions of dollars.

Google is reportedly negotiating with the FTC to determine what would be an equitable fine. According to the agency, Google implanted cookies on user PCs that were able to bypass the built-in protections that Safari has. That is a blatant violation of the FTC, which can technically levy a fine of $16,000 per day per violation. And since, well, there are quite a few people who use Google, that can easily add up.

It isn't exactly a nice trend for Google. The company recently came under fire for its Street View car, which collected WiFi data from users as it roamed the streets. That caused the search giant to be subject to a fine from another federal agency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But that was a slap on the wrist by comparison - Google only had to pay $25,000.